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ITV Report

11 June 2013 at 5:00am

Stand By Your Man: Health Blog

Stand By Your Man Photo: PA

By Tina Gelder, Health Correspondent

So - I was asked by the boss to start working on a campaign about prostate cancer - a cancer that affects men. Now , I'm a married woman - but I have to be honest I had little idea about where the prostate even was, never mind the many ways in which the symptoms can display themselves.

A few weeks on - and how things have changed! The intimate conversations I've had with men I've only just met! But oh my, has it been worth it!

Prostate Cancer kills more than ten thousand men every single year - that's about one an hour. Every year nearly 41 thousand men are diagnosed with it. Yet still, we fail to talk about. Men are reluctant to discuss their health. There's the embarrassment surrounding where the prostate is, plus the ignorance - and, of course, fear.

Stand By Your Man Credit: Calendar

In the run-up to Father's Day, ITV, with Prostate Cancer UK, is asking you to end the silence that is killing the men we love. We want you to Stand By Your Man and pledge your voice to our campaign. Talk to your man about the disease, discuss the symptoms and, if he is showing any, nag and nag again, until he goes to the doctors!

On ITV4 at 11.15pm on Sunday 16th June, a host of celebrities will feature in a film from Prostate Cancer UK. Entitled Father's day (see what we've done) the likes of Charles Dance, John Simm, Ray Winstone, Tamzin Outhwaite, to name but a few, will be bringing the issue of prostate cancer to the small screen. Many have personal reasons for taking part.

And on Calendar this week, I'll be bringing you the very personal stories of those whose lives have been changed by prostate cancer - husbands who're living with it, wives who've become widows because of it, doctors & scientists who're trying to find a cure for it.

I truly believe our Stand By Your Man campaign will make a real difference and could well save lives. So come on, join us - don't let the one you love die of embarrassment.